Honest Abe

Here he is! I just got back from the elementary school after watching Heathen #1's presentation.

The kids in the class were allowed to ask questions after the presentation was over. This is the only question that anyone asked my Heathen:

And some of the photos I snapped:

Looking Back at Tristan

Today Heathen #1 is 10 years old. Wow.

I remember when he was born and the nurses in the nursery showed all of the "first-timers" how to bathe a baby. It looked so easy as she showed us, but I remember being afraid to try. He was so new.

Obviously I got over that fear. But it was replaced many times over with new fears as he grew. I was afraid to clip his fingernails the first time. His fingers were so tiny.
I was afraid to leave him in daycare the first time. What if he was miserable?
I was afraid when he learned to ride a quad at age five - even though it had an emergency kill switch and only went slowly. What if he fell off?
I was afraid to send him to kindergarten. What if he didn't make any friends? What if he didn't like it?
I was afraid to send him to overnight camp the first time. What if he was homesick?

Those are only the fears that I remember off the top of my head. I know there were a million more in the past 10 years.

I remember sleepless nights when he was small and was sick and I was worried. I remember sleepless nights when he just wasn't sleepy and I just wanted to choke him! I remember sleepless nights when I've just laid awake and worried over something concerning him.

I've cried in frustration with him. I've cried with excitement for him. I've cried in pride of him.

Ten years. On one hand it seems like a lifetime ago that he didn't exist. But on the other, he's grown so fast. I guess it was a lifetime ago. Or a different lifetime, when my world didn't revolve around someone else. But I wouldn't change it, not for all the fears, frustrations, tears. Because it has been more joy, love, and laughter than I could have imagined.

Liquid Nails Haberdasher

We've known that Heathen #1 had another upcoming school project. He's talked about it endlessly for about a month. We knew it was a project concerning Abraham Lincoln and that he needed to dress the part for the presentation.

As any good parents would, we waited until tonight to create an Honest Abe outfit. His presentation is tomorrow morning at 11 am. I wonder where he learned to procrastinate? Hmmm....

After scarfing down delivery pizza, we headed for the Mecca of school project supplies - Super WalMart. We raced through the aisles and purchased the following items:
black foam board
black foam (2 sheets)
washable mascara
black dress pants
white dress shirt
black belt
metal "I" brackets and screws
black fabric


I'm sure the shirt, pants, and belt are self explanatory. The other items are probably not.

The Asst. Zookeeper created stilts to make Heathen #1 the appropriate 6'4" tall using 2x4s and an old pair of shoes. The black fabric was used to wrap around the stilts so that they looked like legs. The "I" brackets were used as support to keep the stilts from twisting as he walked.

The foam board was used to make the brim of the hat, and the foam was stitched together to create the "stovepipe" part of a top hat. The issue became attaching the brim to the "stovepipe." We had no glue in the house. The idea of sewing them together did not excite me - the foam board would be a pain.

Luckily, the Asst. Zookeeper is currently remodeling the basement playroom. And he happened to have a tube of Liquid Nails laying about. It took a grand total of 2 minutes to stick everything together with that stuff!

Unfortunately, it dried a tan color - which required a coloring with a permanent marker to make it look better.

So far everything on the list is explained, except the mascara. Tomorrow, Heathen #1 and the Asst. Zookeeper will use it to put a beard on my 10-year-old!

I desperately want to go to the school tomorrow to see the presentation. I have a commitment in Indiana, but I may be able to squeeze out early. It will be worth the effort and hurried drive back to town. It's not every day that Honest Abe walks into a classroom.

Now, if I can only get the Liquid Nails off my fingers.....

Rocks in Their Heads

Two days ago, the Asst. Zookeeper took his webelos den climbing at a friends place. This friend had built an indoor climbing wall at his house/flat. Not very big, but more than big enough that the boys would all have a chance to try without the fear of falling more than a foot or two to the floor.

**Please excuse the fact that my clips are tilted. I've altered the original files, but the upload in the original format. Help, anyone?**

They had a GREAT time! Here's Heathen #1.

You can sort of see Heathens #2 and #3 in these videos. We (meaning me and two Heathens) had to leave early as Heathen #2 had a swimming lesson. As soon as swimming was over, we raced back to the climbing wall so that the younger Heathens had a chance to climb as well.

I've now spent two days listening as the Heathens and the Asst. Zookeeper plot about putting up a rock wall at our house. I figure it's only a matter of time till I come home and find someone swinging from a rope off the roof!

Mixed Emotions

If one more person asks me how I feel - I think I might have to scream! I don't know how I feel.

The Asst. Zookeeper's older brother needs a kidney - and as soon as possible. It's taken him two years to meet all the requirements to be placed on the transplant list. And in those two years, he's health has visibly deteriorated.

Tomorrow, the Asst. Zookeeper and both of his brothers are going for the second round of "Are you a match?" testing. They just have to give a few tubes of blood and then wait for three weeks for the answer.

The Asst. Zookeeper has asked how I feel about the possibility of him giving his brother a kidney. The IN LAWS have asked me. Family friends have asked. And I don't know the answer.

I can only imagine BIL #1's misery. I know he's lost sleep over his brothers going through the testing. And he actually spent two years telling them that they were NOT going to, that he would just wait out his time on the transplant list. But he's so sick, and to their credit, the Asst. Zookeeper and BIL #2 have insisted at this point.

He's family. I realize that he's my brother-in-law, but I still think of him as MY family. And he drives me crazy and we don't always get along, but he's still family. I love his wife and his girls. I can only imagine how heart-sick Jen has been for the past two years.

But he's my Asst. Zookeeper. And I know that he heals well and he heals quickly. And I have great respect for the fact that he's willing. I can only hope I would be able of doing the same. But I worry. He's voluntarily putting himself in surgery. And he's going to hurt, and I can't fix that.

It's going to be a long three week wait. On one hand, I want the decision to be out of his hands. That he won't be a match - but I feel horribly selfish thinking that. And I know how disappointed he will be if he doesn't match. But if he matches, all I can do is support him. How could I do anything less?

It's not that I want to not help his brother, I just want to protect Dan. And I know if he knew what I was thinking, that he'd laugh, shake his head at me, and tell me that I worry too much. I think it's a result of being married to someone with a big heart.

My son, Christopher

The Asst. Zookeeper finally got film developed from the district swim meet. I can't complain - I didn't even remember to take my camera. I'm a good mom (once in a while!).

Here is Heathen #1's 200 medley relay team:

Left to right: Collin (or Connor) Schafer, Colton Longer, Heathen #1, and Conner (or Collin) Schafer.

We spent the season telling Heathen #1 that we should change his name to Christopher, or some other name that began with a "c."

Colton was Heathen #1's inspiration for the Mohawk. This is a picture of the boys AFTER warm ups (45 minutes in the water) and AFTER their race. Colton's mohawk never budged.

And as for the Collin vs. Connor issue: This particular set of twins has been in Tristan's elementary school since kindergarten. They've been friends with my son since kindergarten (now going on five years). And I still can't tell them apart. Ever. Even for identical twins, they are REALLY identical.

Marshmallows for Easter

We had a fantastic Easter Sunday at our zoo! We woke the Heathens up around 8am so that we had time for "bunny activities" before we had to get ready for church.

As always, the Easter Bunny hid several eggs that the Heathens couldn't find. And even the Asst. Zookeeper and I really had to look (and think back carefully) before we found the last two elusive eggs. You would think we would learn by now - but, no.

The Easter Bunny brought the Heathens their Easter outfits for church. Heathen #3 had his new sweater vest on for a total of 3 minutes before he got chocolate down the front. I was actually impressed that it took him that long.

The Heathens always get candy for Easter breakfast. I know it's a bad idea every year, but I can't help it. Who wants a bowl of cereal when you just got a basket of chocolate?

At church, the Heathens were pretty well behaved, especially when taking into account their chocolate intake. And we were actually early for church! As the Asst. Zookeeper proclaimed it, "Another Easter Miracle!"

During the service, Pastor called all the children forward for their "chat." And he always gives them something on holidays. This Sunday, those kids hit pay dirt. They got a baggie of jelly beans, a chocolate cross, a beaded cross necklace, and gummy candy! Can you tell that Pastor has a sweet tooth?

Heathen #3 was the last kid in line to get his candy from Pastor. As he was sliding back into the pew, I didn't even think, I automatically asked, "Did you tell Pastor 'Thank you'?" And of course, Heathen #3 turned to the front of the church and yelled at the top of his little lungs, "THANK YOU PASTOR!!!" I'm so thankful that our older church goers love children. Otherwise, we'd have been strung up long ago. Pastor simply smiled, said "You're welcome," and went right back into his sermon.

After church, we headed for the IN LAWS house - I'm so thankful I never have to cook holiday meals. It's so much more fun to play with all the kids! It was at their house that I finally got the picture of my Heathens in their outfits.

And after our meal, the IN LAWS broke out the Easter gifts for everyone. Most people give others flowers or candy at Easter. Not the IN LAWS. They give out weapons. The first year it was water guns. In the years since, we've received an assortment of dart guns, foam disc guns, anything that shoots something. And the battles are always in the house because it's usually muddy or snowing.

This year was marshmallow shooters! Everyone - children and adults alike - got a marshmallow shooter and a bag of miniature marshmallows. And there were 27 of us at the house for dinner. The rule is that we have to get the kids weapons running before the adults are allowed to get ours out of the packages. Not that we really listen very well.

There were marshmallows everywhere. Every room in the house was littered with miniature marshmallows. It was great! After two hours of shooting marshmallows at each other, we spent two hours picking up marshmallows off the floor. The IN LAWS are planning to have their carpets cleaned professionally this week - you stick to the floor with every step!

Dinosaurs!

This weekend, we drove the Heathens to State College to see Walking with Dinosaurs. It was amazing! Our seats were not the greatest - ours were the cheapest! But we still had a great view.

The show involves 15+ animatronic dinosaurs - all made life size! The large ones are "driven" by teams of two or three people inside, while the baby dinosaurs and the smaller ones are actually people in costume. It was fantastic and the Heathens absolutely loved it. It was a great field trip for the zoo!

You can really see the size of the dinosaurs in the shots where the paleontologist is visible. This was at the Bryce Jordan Arena and the dinosaurs FILLED the floor. In this video, the baby T-Rex is an adult male in costume - and he looks tiny!

Egg Soup

On Thursday evening of last week, we sat down with the three Heathens to dye Easter eggs. Three dozen eggs, ten cups of vinegar-smelling dye, two wire egg dippers, a spoon, and LOTS of paper towels. I had the best evening.

Heathens #1 and #2 use the white crayon including in the kits and they decorate all of their eggs. Each one is unique - and in the case of Heathen #1 - has it's own name. Heathen #3 just gets an "L" on each of his to identify them. I'm not much for drawing.

Heathens #1 and #2 are self sufficient at this point when it comes to dying Easter eggs. The only job that the Asst. Zookeeper and I have at this stage is to sit at the same table and make "oooo" noises of being impressed. Heathen #3 is still a little more hands-on at this point. But this year, he declared that he "do it all my byself!" And so he did... And I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time.

He didn't understand the concept of putting in one egg at a time. His coloring cups always had AT LEAST two eggs a piece. And he smashed them down with his hands to keep them under the water.

Usually, the Heathens only break one or two eggs during this process. This year, they broke ALL of them, except one of two. Heathen #3 kept smacking them on the table. The other two kept dropping them. I even dropped one at one point - right onto the cat that happened to be walking under the edge of the table. Thank heavens she isn't white!

All the egg dying only took about an hour. We had a lot of muddy colored eggs at the end of the process. Heathen #3 had blue hands from the wrists to his finger tips. Heathen #2 spilled the cup of blue dye - which ran across the table and splashed onto the dining room floor. Thank heavens we have hardwood floors and it was easy to clean up!

One of the last eggs that Heathen #3 dyed was broken before it even went into the coloring cup. He proceeded to make egg soup with it in the pink dye. After coloring eggs now at our zoo for 11 years - this was still a first for us!